Pupils return to school closed due to mystery cracks

Pupils return to Prudhoe Community High School

- JAMES ROBINSON Local democracy reporter [e-mail]

THE cause of cracks in a Northumberland high school that forced the building to close for almost seven months remains unknown.

Pupils have now been welcomed back to Prudhoe Community High School with the building now confirmed as safe, but the cause of the issues remains a mystery.

The school shut its doors in February over safety fears after the cracks were uncovered.

Pupils were initially taught online before an alternative site was secured at Sunderland College's mothballed Washington campus.

School leaders attended Wednesday’s meeting of Tynedale Community Partnership to inform local councillors of the current situation.

Speaking at the meeting, Cheviot Learning Trust CEO Alice Witherow confirmed that the damage was not caused by former mine workings.

She said: “We're still discussing what happened with the original builders. The school was under warranty so it has been repaired.

“It wasn’t mining, it definitely wasn’t, that has all been checked and the ground was completely fine.

“We also had the big storm [Storm Eowyn] which is still a working theory, but there is no conclusive evidence. Prudhoe High School is now safe.”